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The Tea Party Express today offered its “support” to Rep. Michele Bachmann, but the leading conservative activist group stopped short of officially endorsing the Minnesotan in her long-shot bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

The Sacramento, Calif.-based Tea Party Express said in a statement that while it has not endorsed any candidate, it remains committed to backing the conservative candidate best-positioned to beat President Barrack Obama in 2012. The group advocated for a competitive primary, beginning with the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3 and including all of the states that follow, to jump-start that process.

Therefore, they said they did not want Bachmann, or any other candidates, prematurely pushed out of the primary.

“While the Tea Party Express has not endorsed a presidential candidate at this time, Michele Bachmann garners strong Tea Party support because of her work and commitment to restoring fiscal responsibility to Washington, D.C.,” Tea Party Express Chairman Amy Kremer said. “Let’s let the voters in Iowa choose the leading candidates to go forward from the many excellent candidates we have.”

Kremer continued, “The Tea Party Express is committed to finding and endorsing the strongest conservative candidate to take on President Barack Obama next year. In order to develop the best candidate, we must allow for a competitive process in Iowa and the early primary and other caucus states. Let’s let the voters in Iowa choose the leading candidates to go forward from the many excellent candidates we have.”